University of Pennsylvania Museum
exhibition
at the Jonathan Rhoads Pavilion in the
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
through November 1998

The current health belief systems of Plains Indians
reflect a blending of American
Indian traditions with modern Western
practice. Health and healing are among the most important concerns of
Native Americans. While traditional healing techniques may vary from
tribe to tribe, Indian groups also share common traditions, including
the use of healing rites and an intricate knowledge of herbal
medicine.

Oglala Sioux client (r) at Indian
Health Service Hospital, J Traig Ht Clinic, Pine Ridge Reservation,
South Dakota. The picture on the wall shows the medicine circle on which
a seated Native American elder talks with two standing youths. He holds
a smoking pipe. The caption reads: "Tobacco. It was never meant to be
abused." Photo courtesy Jaqueline Sokoloff.

Another common thread
that binds all Plains Indian groups is the ideal of
wellness. Wellness can be defined as the state
when the mind, the body, and the spirit are all connected
and in balance. One cannot be separated from the other. The
medicine circle--having no beginning and no
end--represents this concept of harmonious unity.

We illustrate here the bicultural
traditions that currently exist among the Oglala
Sioux on the Pine Ridge Reservation
in South Dakota. The Oglala
Sioux are among the most traditional
of all the Plains Indians. They are working to incorporate healing practices
and health beliefs from the past with those of the present.

Present-day Indians
travel in a culturally conditioned way. If they have what
are believed to be white man's diseases, that is, heart
disease or diabetes, then they must be treated by white
man's medicine and in his facilities. Indian sickness, on
the other hand, is caused by disharmony between humans and
supernatural powers. These illnesses must be treated by
native
practitioners.

Historic photograph of Lakota
Sioux Medicine Lodge, used to conduct religious and healing ceremonies
during the latter half of the 19th century. Courtesy
UPM Archives